{"id":140934,"date":"2019-11-06T15:02:05","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T20:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=140934"},"modified":"2019-11-06T15:46:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T20:46:29","slug":"aston-martin-offers-inside-out-look-at-dbx-ahead-of-simultaneous-labeijing-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2019\/11\/aston-martin-offers-inside-out-look-at-dbx-ahead-of-simultaneous-labeijing-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Aston Martin Offers Inside-Out Look at DBX Ahead of Simultaneous LA\/Beijing Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Aston Martin is set to unveil its long-awaited DBX SUV during the Los Angeles Auto Show.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Aston Martin DBX has been designed to go pretty much anywhere. Soon, the British luxury marque will have to prove it by helping Aston\u2019s stock climb out of the deep rut it’s fallen into.<\/p>\n

The carmaker\u2019s shares have tumbled nearly 80% since Aston went public 13 months ago. But, if the DBX delivers on expectations, it could turn things around by helping more than double the brand\u2019s global sales.<\/p>\n

Aston has been teasing the DBX for months, this week offering the clearest image yet \u2013 of the luxury SUV\u2019s interior. For a better look at the exterior, potential buyers \u2013 as well as analysts, investors and the media \u2013 will have to wait until Nov. 19, when Aston stages simultaneous unveilings in Los Angeles and Beijing.<\/p>\n

(Aston Martin’s Long-Awaited EV, the Rapide E Rolls into Shanghai)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The DBX is actually just one of seven major new product lines \u2013 and yet other niche variants \u2013 that CEO Andy Palmer has authorized since he joined the carmaker in late 2014. These include models like the familiar DB11 and Vantage, but the new SUV \u2013 Aston\u2019s first ever \u2013 is expected to become its most important, as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The interior of the DBX will be laden with leather and technology \u2014 like every other Aston Martin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If it clicks in a luxury market increasingly focused on utility vehicles, Aston predicts, it will help boost sales from 6,440 in 2018 to around 14,000 by 2023. And it will punch up the carmaker\u2019s bottom line substantially.<\/p>\n

The DBX is expected to come at $189,000 in the U.S. That would position it midway between the $165,000 Bentley Bentayga \u2013 the first SUV to enter the ultra-premium luxury space four years ago \u2013 and the newer, $200,000 Lamborghini Urus.<\/p>\n

Considering the momentum in the SUV space, it is easy to see why Aston is betting so heavily on the DBX. The Bentayga and Urus are now the best-selling models for their brands, as are the less exotic Cayenne and Macan utes for Porsche. But the market is going to be getting extremely crowded fast. With only a few exceptions, such as McLaren, every top-line manufacturer is pushing into the SUV space, even Rolls-Royce with the recently launched Cullinan, and Ferrari.<\/p>\n

While only a handful of potential buyers and journalists have seen the Aston Martin DBX, the automaker has begun to let some details leak out, among other things noting that it will be powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 making 550 horsepower and capable of reaching at least 180 mph. Palmer has also hinted in conversations with TheDetroitBureau.com that a future version will be electrified, though he has not confirmed whether that will be in the form of a plug-in hybrid, like Bentayga, or an all-electric alternative.<\/p>\n

(Q&A: Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

This week, the automaker released both a carefully shadowed teaser image of the DBX exterior, as well as a far more revealing interior image.<\/p>\n

The cabin appears open and spacious, Aston claiming \u201csuperior visibility is key\u201d to the DBX design.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aston CEO Andy Palmer described the DBX as the “most important” vehicle in the company’s history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe dashboard accentuates the feeling of space and luxury in DBX,\u201d a statement noted. \u201cEach button and dial has been carefully positioned following extensive testing from external counsel, including the brand\u2019s Female Advisory Board and multiple customer clinics.\u201d<\/p>\n

That underscores the fact that Aston expects a much higher level of female buyers for DBX than for its traditional models \u2013 as has been the case with ultra-premium competitors like Bentley. Storage space is seen as one of the reasons women like these SUVs, and there will be a floating center console with, among other things, room for a purse, as well as phones, water bottles and other posessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rear passengers were central to the design process,\u201d Aston\u2019s statement added. \u201cThe design team wanted an inclusive feeling for those in the rear of the car, but without the sense that the rear occupants were leaning over those in the front of the vehicle, which can sometimes be the result of so-called \u2018stadium\u2019 seating arrangements. The needs of children were also considered extensively and, in a new exercise for Aston Martin, a group of children were invited to share their experience of ingress and egress and sitting in an ergonomic assessment model at the company\u2019s design studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Aston Martin Set to Launch Latest James Bond Special Edition)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As for the decision to hold a dual debut, a quick look at sales trends reveals that the Los Angeles area is the largest U.S. market for vehicles like the DBX, though China has become the single-largest market for ultra-premium brands like Aston Martin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Termed the “most important vehicle” in Aston Martin’s history, the automaker’s first-ever sport-utility vehicle will make dual debuts in Los Angeles and Beijing. The utes are likely to become the brand’s most popular entries, putting the company back on track. Check out the story at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8,5],"tags":[],"make":[34],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,286,213,149,150,151,268,123,287,289,299,271,163,132,284,125,139,290,128,278,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140934"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140934"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=140934"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=140934"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=140934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}